The water level at the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest water control project, is expected to reach its designed maximum Tuesday.

The monitored water level was 174.8 meters as of 3:00 PM Monday and is expected to reach the target 175 meters early Tuesday, according to calculations based on water flow speeds, Cao Guangjing, chairman of the China Three Gorges Project Corporation, told Xinhua.

The 175-meter mark, a milestone in the construction of the gigantic reservoir, would enable the project to fulfill its functions of flood control, power generation, navigation and water supply to the fullest extent.

The dam in central China started to hold back water this September by discharging less to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the country's longest.

It is the third time the reservoir has neared full capacity since 2008. Water levels stopped at 172.8 meters in 2008 and 171.43 meters in 2009 due to droughts and other factors on the lower reaches.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2010)